JAKARTA - Minister of Culture Fadli Zon received the Ambassador of the LBBP Federation of Russia to Indonesia, Sergei Tolchenov, at the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Indonesia, Tuesday, February 10. The meeting discussed the expansion of cultural cooperation - from exhibitions, museums, literacy and historical archives, to films and performing arts - with a more "comprehensive and sustainable" target.
As a foothold, Fadli alluded to the inauguration of a statue of Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy at the University of Indonesia on December 3, 2025. He then threw a counter-plan: displaying a statue of Chairil Anwar at St. Petersburg University. Ambassador Tolchenov - accompanied by Gleb Darchenkov and Ekaterina Kuznetsova - welcomed him. "It's a very good idea and we are open to discussing various possibilities, including other location options," he said.
Fadli also encouraged the exploration of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on culture as a wider umbrella of cooperation, as well as strengthening relations between communities. On the other hand, he highlighted the access to archives as a homework that needs to be opened wider. "There are many exchanges of archives between Indonesia and Russia. Therefore, we want to explore the possibility of access to these archives," said Fadli. Tolchenov said that many archives in Russia have been digitized and can be accessed, along with cooperation between the National Archives of the Russian Federation and the National Archives of the Republic of Indonesia.
In the film sector, both parties discussed opportunities for joint production, festival participation, and strengthening the creative industry network. "Participation in the activities and film festivals of each country is an effective way to bring together film industry players," said Fadli.
Tolchenov also invited Fadli to attend the Congress of the OIC Ministers of Culture in Kazan, which is said to discuss issues of the Muslim world - from halal economy, sharia banking, to fashion - and involve creative industry players, including from Indonesia.
The meeting also discussed cooperation in art and culture education, including opportunities for collaboration between Russian performing arts institutions and art education institutions in Indonesia. Fadli was accompanied by Director General Endah T.D. Retnoastuti, Expert Staff Masyithoh Annisa Ramadhani Alkatiri, and Special Staff Annisa Rengganis.
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